Chapter 13 I Won’t Let Sister Yun Lose The sky after the rain is as blue as...
The sky was clear blue after the rain. In the valley not far away, wild flowers of various colors grew half a person's height. The stream was gurgling, and you could smell the fragrance of flowers if you bent down.
Rainwater had accumulated in the grass pit, and the horse's hooves splashed muddy spots. Xue Yu calmly pulled up Yun Yang's low skirt.
Yun Yang was riding on a horse, with her brother-in-law Xue Yu behind her. It was not the first time she was so close to him, but this time she felt like a thorn in her back.
It was really like a thorn in her side. He was right behind her, his strong waist and abdomen pressed against her, and his warm breath was on her neck, swaying with the bumps of the horse's back. Yun Yang just felt an itch on her neck and wanted to scratch it.
There is a faint scent of agarwood in the humid air after the rain, quiet and cool.
"Are you hurt?" Xue Yu broke the silence.
"Why didn't you catch much prey?" Yun Yang moved forward calmly.
They both asked at the same time.
Yun Yang was a little embarrassed, not knowing whether to answer first or wait for his answer, while Xue Yu was silent, as if waiting for her answer.
"I'm not injured," Yun Yang said seriously, his tense back relaxing a little. "Just a little tired. The princess almost ran out of the hunting grounds. Hey, that bear guard's horse is carrying a wooden rake with not much prey on it. Doesn't that mean His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will lose to the First Prince?"
"You really hope that His Royal Highness will win?"
Xue Yu spoke slowly, stretching out his clear voice. It was so pleasant that it made Yun Yang's ears numb at first, but the chill in his tone made Yun Yang alert.
Does the outcome of a hunt also depend on political views?
Yun Yang couldn't help but wonder, secretly glancing at him and saying, "Brother-in-law, aren't you the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor? Since you're working for His Royal Highness, I naturally hope that His Royal Highness will win. Besides, many people are betting on the outcome, so I'm also following a little..."
"You followed a little bit too?" he repeated, his eyes sharp. "Did you know that gambling is forbidden in Dazhao?"
Yun Yang was feeling a bit guilty at first, but after being frightened by Xue Yu, he decided to throw in the towel and raised his voice, "I know, and so do the others. How could they place bets? Do they really need to arrest and sentence so many people? Besides, it's just for fun, why are you being so harsh and making a big deal out of it..."
Xue Yu stopped talking.
"Miss Yun, have you placed a bet that I can win?" Crown Prince Li Yi suddenly spoke.
The prince's voice sounded young and elegant, with a boyish pride, a complete change from his previous gloom.
He looked like the nobleman Yun Yang had met at an elegant gathering in Youzhou. He was neither arrogant nor impetuous, and exuded the composure that came from power.
She raised her eyes to glance at him. Half of the prince's body was bathed in the sunlight after the rain, and the oriental pearls on the gilded jade crown were dazzling.
Is this the royal bearing? She didn't dare to look any longer, and hurriedly lowered her head, allowing him to examine her carefully.
"Your Highness, my wife's sister grew up in the countryside and has no good manners. If she has offended me in any way, please forgive her." Xue Yu said.
"That's all right." The prince said with a warm smile, "If she's Lord Xue's sister-in-law, then she's my sister. There's no need to observe those formalities. I just want to know if there are many people betting on me winning."
Yun Yang didn't know whether to answer for a moment. It was a bet on who would win, and it would be fine if the people didn't report it and the officials didn't investigate. But now he was dancing in front of the "official". Not only that, this "official" was the one who bet.
She nudged her brother-in-law back gently with her elbow.
Xue Yu said calmly, "If His Highness asks you to speak, then go ahead."
Yun Yang was a straightforward person. Having received permission, he spoke without reservation, deliberately speaking softly and slowly. "My bet is 50/50 on you and the Crown Prince. Many people hope you'll win, but they're also concerned that you're a bit weaker in riding and archery than the Crown Prince, so... But don't worry, I'm betting on you to win. I've even staked ten taels of silver."
The Crown Prince looked relaxed and contented, and said with a hearty laugh, "I will not let Sister Yun lose."
Yun Yang lowered her head and nodded, thinking to herself that with such a small amount of prey, how could she win... Her ten taels of silver would really be wasted.
"Why, Sister Yun, you don't believe me?" The prince's smile spread across his usually gloomy and pale face, now showing the cheerfulness that only a young man could muster. "Do you think I've caught too few prey?"
"This... How should I answer this? Can't I deceive the king?" Yun Yang glanced at the pitifully small amount of prey and said honestly, "It is indeed a bit small, Your Highness."
Princess An Ning interrupted, "It's not just a little, it's very little, Brother Ying. You can't beat me like this. I also placed a bet!"
Xue Yu watched the two of them chatting back and forth, frowned slightly, and turned his gaze to look into the distance.
Today's hunting was successful. Each family gathered their prey in front of the emperor, and the old emperor's eyes and brows showed a rare joy.
The noble children had the advantage of being in large numbers, and their carts were full of prey. The eldest prince was especially lucky, as he alone accounted for half of the prey.
In contrast, the prey on the wooden sled brought by the prince was pitifully small, with only a few hares and birds.
The wind was strong in the hunting grounds. Yun Yang and An Ning's thin skirts were damp from the rain, and the wind made them even colder.
Princess An Ning was shivering with cold. When she reached the foot of the platform, she pulled Yun Yang into the tent without saying a word to change clothes.
Yun Yang wanted to see the result, but she felt a tingling sensation in her leg. She bent down, rolled up her skirt and pulled it apart, only to see that a large piece of skin on her fair knee was scraped off. The scratch was shocking, and the pain returned, like fine needles pricking the wound.
"This must have been scratched when you jumped off the horse to save me. I'll call the imperial physician to apply medicine on you. It would be bad if it left a scar." An Ning said as they walked. "What's there to see? Anyway, we can ask about the results later."
It was getting dark, and a huge bonfire was lit between the tents. Yun Yang changed into dry clothes and applied medicine to the wound. It was said to be a secret recipe from the palace that would never leave scars. Later, Princess An Ning kept the medicine in her tent.
The result of this hunting was that the prince won. When Yun Yang learned about it, his eyes widened in surprise.
Then the little palace maid reported the judging process in detail. It turned out that the prince was merciful and could not bear to hunt the small animals such as deer and sheep that were artificially raised in the current season because they had not yet grown up and most of the animals that appeared in the forest were half-grown cubs.
The emperor was silent for a moment and then expressed his admiration. He gave the first place to the prince who had the least prey.
"There must have been people present who had other ideas. Unexpectedly, at this moment, a female leopard among the prey hunted by the eldest prince suddenly pounced on the prince. Thanks to Lord Xue's quick eyes and hands, it blocked the attack, thus saving the prince from suffering. After this happened, those who were dissatisfied kept silent. There was a dead little leopard under the female leopard." said the palace maid.
"Ah, Lord Xue? Is my brother-in-law injured?" Yun Yang stood up suddenly.
"Lord Xue's arm was scratched several times by the leopard. The imperial physician has already applied medicine and bandaged it," the maid said. "Hey, Second Miss Yun, where have you been?"
Yun Yang waved as he walked out, "I'm going to see my brother-in-law!"
*
The moonlight in the mountains was hazy. Without the lighting of the palace lanterns, only sparse torches were lit, barely allowing for visibility.
Yun Yang first went to look around the bonfire, but couldn't find Xue Yu. After asking again and again, he followed the direction indicated by the eunuch and finally found Xue Yu's tent.
The tent was pitch black.
The eunuchs were all gathered around the emperor's tent. Since there was no one around, Yun Yang could only slowly approach and whisper as he walked, "Brother-in-law? Brother-in-law? Xue Yu... are you in there?"
She stopped in front of the tent and took a moment to think. Could it be that her brother-in-law was not here? But she had just walked around the camp for most of the time and had not seen her brother-in-law.
His arm was injured... and it was injured by a wild beast. I don’t know how serious it is. If he gets infected with a high fever, what if something happens... won’t my sister become a widow?
Even if you are not that thing, being disabled is not allowed. Dazhao has a law that people with disabilities cannot serve as officials in the court.
Yun Yang was extremely anxious, pacing back and forth in front of the tent, muttering, "What should I do? Is he fainted somewhere? No one is paying attention to him in this remote place. What if he gets carried away by a wild animal? Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law, Xue Yu! Xue Yu!"
At the end of his speech, he actually shouted loudly.
A slight movement was heard from the pitch-black tent, and the sigh sounded particularly helpless in the dark night. "Yun Yang, come in."
The sound of footsteps came from the tent. Xue Yu had changed out of his riding clothes during the day, wearing a light fur coat and loose belt. His black hair was casually spread out, and his right arm was bandaged and stretched with a white cloth.
Yun Yang walked in quickly and asked curiously, "Brother-in-law, you are here, then why didn't you answer me?"
Xue Yu did not answer, nor did he light a candle. He simply asked calmly, "What's the urgent matter that brought you to me so late at night?"
"I heard that you were injured, scratched by a leopard, so I wanted to come and see you..." Yun Yang said.
"It's nothing, just a minor injury." Xue Yu looked a little tired. "I've seen it, let's go back."
"I, I didn't see it. You wrapped it so tightly." Yun Yang defended, "Being scratched by a wild animal is no small matter. Have you washed the wound thoroughly? You should rinse it several times, otherwise..."
"Shut up." Xue Yu suddenly interrupted her, looking out the door with deep and sharp eyes, and pulled Yun Yang behind the screen without saying anything.
Yun Yang pursed her lips tightly, and her big, bright eyes blinked rapidly, as if asking why and what was wrong.
Xue Yu lowered his eyes, put his finger on his thin lips, and made a gesture of silence.
The person outside the door called out "Lord Xue" several times, just like Yun Yang did when he visited just now. Seeing no response, he quickly walked inside.
The tent was very large, separated by a screen that was not light-transmissive. Yun Yang held his breath and dared not move, guessing most of what was going on in his mind.
Xue Yu had been silent just now, waiting for this person to come. But her sudden visit almost ruined his plan, so he had no choice but to drag her in.
I didn't know who the person was. I only heard the sound of a sharp knife being sheathed. He first rummaged through the table, and then walked slowly.
Yun Yang bit her lip, a chill running down her spine. She shrank back a little, her eyes adjusting to the darkness as she looked around the tent.
It’s not enough to just hide like this. Seeing that the man is coming, I have to find a place to hide.
Xue Yu had broad shoulders and a broad back, completely covering Yun Yang in his arms. He frowned slightly as he saw her shivering.
The tips of her messy hair brushed against the side of his neck, making it itchy. Xue Yu was really impatient, and he couldn't make a sound in this situation, so he could only gently rub the top of her head to relieve the itch on the side of his neck.
Yun Yang raised her eyes and saw something strange on his handsome and indifferent face, but she had no time to care about it. She just glanced at the dimness and pointed at the bed not far away.
Xue Yu shook his head calmly.
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